82 Library Pl, PRINCETON, NJ

About 82 Library Pl

Presenting the meticulously restored and sensitively modernized home of Woodrow Wilson, a spectacular Tudor Revival on Princeton’s most iconic Western section block. The award-winning project, overseen by architect Ron Berlin and the master builders of Baxter Construction, was a seven-year labor of love. The goal was much broader than just creating a welcoming home for future generations or a sophisticated venue for lavish entertaining. Reviving the burnished woodwork and repairing countless leaded glass windows also paid homage to the artisans of bygone times and, most importantly, the costly undertaking rescued an irreplaceable piece of history from neglect. Along with Monticello, it is one of only two functional houses in the country to have been designed and built by a US President. The Wilsons moved into their dream home in 1896 and the door was always open for Princeton students who wished to meet with their revered professor or attend classes in his grand foyer. The splendid library, an oak-paneled room off the foyer created by the current owners, feels like the perfect spot for intellectual fireside debate. The dining room, through stained glass pocket doors, is a tribute to Princeton’s beautiful campus with its most treasured landmarks hand-painted on the canvas-lined walls. Bright and elegant describes the adjoining living room crowned with a plaster tracery ceiling. One of the few added spaces is a greenhouse-inspired sunroom with custom wood windows, glass ceiling, French doors and a bar for keeping both plants and guests hydrated. It can be hard to distinguish between original and new cabinetry in the kitchen, where a copper drainboard sink and working dumbwaiter join a double Wolf range and an oiled bronze pot rack that lifts/lowers over a honed granite island. There is plenty of adjoining space for comfortable relaxation, plus access to two patios serenaded by a fountain and a cascading koi pond. A porte cochére-turned-office is positioned for privacy and stunning views through arched windows. Casual space for lounging exists both downstairs in the multi-room finished basement and upstairs in a former sleeping porch overlooking Wilson’s prized beech tree. Window seats and period mantels are some of the charming touches decorating four bedrooms on the second floor, including the primary suite with a coffee bar and a radiant-heated marble bathroom opening to a balcony. The skylit third floor with up to 3 more bedrooms feels like a private apartment with its own laundry, bath, and a cedar walk-in closet. There are countless details to admire within the home and innumerable plantings to discover in the gardens redesigned by Holly Nelson in 2022. Even the garage is a fully restored sight to behold.

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